John L. Morrison - Aftermath

Aftermath

Morrison’s funeral at Bell Brothers Mortuary in West Duluth was well-attended. Mayor Samuel Snively and City Commissioner W. S. McCormick eulogized Morrison as a good man. His body was sent back to his birthplace, Tabor, Iowa. Morrison’s wife, Nora, was 49 when he died. They had two children: John L. Jr., who died a few years after his father, and Mattie Bell, who went on to have a successful career in politics in the Chicago area.

Tischer continued to insist the injunction against the Ripsaw be maintained, even after Morrison’s death. Judge E. J. Kenney, however, allowed a continuation of the paper, but without its “head sawyer,” the paper ceased.

In 1927, the gag law was used to shut down the Saturday Press, an anti-Semitic, anti-gangster scandal sheet in Minneapolis. This gave rise to Near v. Minnesota, a pivotal Supreme Court decision that struck down the Public Nuisance Law on June 1, 1931.